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U.S. Department of Energy
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AERORADIOACTIVITY SURVEY AND AREAL GEOLOGY OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT AREA, SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:4790677
A survey of 10,000 square miles near Augusta, Ga., was made by the U. S. Geological Survey for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. Continuous radioactivity profiles were obtained with scintillation-counting equipment at approximately 500 ft above the ground on parallel northwestsoutheast flight lines spaced 1 mile apart. A map of aeroradioactivity units was prepared from the profiles. The gamma-radiation data indicates a wide range in the levels of natural radioactivity and that the levels are closely related to the types of underlying rock. About 2000 square miles of the Piedmont province, partly mantled by thick residual soil, are included in the area. Three types of bedrock are present: a metamorphic complex of schist, gneiss, and granite; argillite, slate, and schist of the Carolina slate belt (Little River series of Crickmay); and plutons of granite and porphyritic granite. The granites and parts of the metamorphic complex have a high aeroradioactivity; the aeroradioactivity of the slate belt is generally low. Several rock units in the Piedmont, irrespective of weathering, may be mapped by their characteristic radioactivity. The Coastal Plain, consisting of several sedimentary units which range in age from Cretaceous to Quaternary, comprises the rest of the area surveyed. These rocks consist of soft sand, silt, clay, gravel, marl, and limestone. The aeroradioactivity of the Upper Cretaceous and Eocene rocks ranges from moderate to high whereas that of the younger beds is generally low. (auth)
Research Organization:
Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.; Division of Biology and Medicine, AEC
NSA Number:
NSA-16-011933
OSTI ID:
4790677
Report Number(s):
CEX-58.4.2
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English